PeterG - New to the obsession

[peterg]

Greetings all!

Have just bought my first MX5 (’91 Na6 – Red!!) and am now part of the obsession.
I don’t know the history of the car but it has had some mods done and a fair bit of TLC.
15” Black wheels (must check the brand) with R1 tyres
Whiteline swaybar (front)
Large radiator
Pod filter
Red and Black leather interior
Rear spoiler
Rear speakers
New rotors and pads

I bought the car of my partner’s son (Iain) and thankfully he is happy to share in the obsession as well. I have read some great stories here, so thought I would add my little bit as well.

The car has good paint and very minor rust. Due to my age (50+) I grew up with “older” cars and therefore the first thing I did was check for rust. There was a little in the boot (yes – battery biz) and some under the parcel carpet. So first thing was neutralize the rust in the boot, hit it with rust converter and then rust guard paint. I have replaced the lead acid battery with a sealed one and cut some rubber sheet to ensure the terminals can’t be shorted out. Treated the parcel shelf as well and used red rust guard paint from Bunnings that is really close to the car colour so will use it as touch up under the body etc.

Now for the next step! I decided to try to keep the car reasonably standard, with a few little “safety” type changes. Iain had a nice shiny brushed gear knob installed, however it got so hot I would burn my hand on it – so OEM one back on. I considered the headlights to be pretty ordinary so changed them with some crystal lens ones and better globes – wow what a difference. Read Hammer’s input on the lens covers (blue vinyl from the US) so that and some smoky protectors on the now LED Parkers look great.

Side number plate holder, new black and white slimline plates also make the front look better. Clear side indicators and clear third stoplight help break up the lines as well. Strut brace in the engine bay with the whiteline sway bar certainly improved the handling as well as adjusting the tyre pressure (as per a lot of the threads in the forum).

Driving to work one morning I noticed the idle speed way up. I had this in an old Ford once and knew straight away that I had cooling problems. Yep-up went the temp gauge! Luckily I could pull over and heard the hiss coming from the engine. One of the heater hoses had gone and I was dumping water. Luckily Iain had already bought a set of blue silicone hoses that we were going to change out, so a quick phone call and he came straight out with hoses, water and more coolant (No coffee though!!!). So at 6 am we did a snappy change on the offending hose and booked the next Saturday morning to do them all. Most were OK to change, however I think some were originals and had to be cut off. Iain had put in a new radiator and therefore things were pretty good for cooling.

After reviewing the forum I realised my gear shift seals must be gone due to heat and smell in the cockpit. Ordered them and changed out in accordance with the helpful guides. An easy job that has reduced the heat in the cockpit and am considering the shiny steel knob again. They were certainly stuffed and the oil in the plenum was pretty ordinary as well!

I am really amazed at the support provided through the forum as it is so helpful in understanding the problems and obtaining spares. I have bought from the UK, US, Brisvegas and Sydney and all parts have arrived quickly and are exactly right. A couple of things off E Bay (LEDs etc) have taken a bit more time and hassle! Due to the help from the forum I haven’t gone to Mazda once (yet).

As the car has done 170K Klms and not knowing the history I took it to MX Mania for a 200k service. As well as the major service I had the Gear and Diff oil changed and the only problem was a leaky boot on the Diff and the thermo fan sensor earthing out – I was impressed! I had the Cam Cover swapped out for a shiny one and very happy. My partner thinks I am some sort of bower bird as I keep looking at more and more shiny bits!

Changed out the spark plug leads at this stage as they looked a bit shonky. The spare wheel was bald (strange for a speed limited spare?) so for $40 mania provided a new/old one with plenty of tread.

After getting sick of the boot access, we installed a remote opener and now need to adjust the tension of the springs in the boot to keep it open. Iain had put in a headlight intake for the pod and painted both light covers black. After some deliberation I had them repainted to the original red and think they look better ($60 well spent!)

I have had the car for a month now so am getting used to the handling. Wow it is fun! The height is scary but when you drive a super go kart everything is bigger I guess!

I am looking at a style bar at the moment, but notice the choice is limited. Had a talk with MX Mania and will probably get a shiny V bar. I need to change the mirrors (drooping) but am unsure about the replacement. I am erring to the standard red ones, however some shiny chrome ones may look good. Did I say I was going top keep it standard????? LoL

Have bought some clay bar and will post some photos when I get it shiny!

[lee]

Pics or it didn't happen

How's the handling with only the front sway bar?

[dave2221]

Welcome...

[Regie]

Pics or it didn't happen

How's the handling with only the front sway bar?

welcome!

front sway bars only are fun...lots of oversteer

[de Bounce]

Welcome to the Forum.
Nice read, need some photo's tho

Looks like you have covered everything.
Since the rear parcel tray has rusted, check that the drain holes aren't blocked.

[Hjt]

Welcome, my only question is what area are you from?

[Hammer]

Welcome to the 5 family.

Pix or ban

[Uncle Arthur]

Now THIS is the type of post us old timers around the forum LOVE to see

Welcome to the fun

[Guran]

Welcome aboard Peter! Sounds to me like you're a candidate to sign up with the MX-5 Club of NSW. Getting involved with club runs and trackdays is a great way to enhance your enjoyment of your new toy!

[peterg]

With only the font sway bar the handling seems ok. I am looking to put a rear one on eventually as well. Damn right indicators not working so $ to get them fixed I guess.
I had a front brace on put after getting a mania induction system fitted it wont fit. I am going to re look at the levels inside the engibne bay and try to work it out.

Question - how do you upload images etc? I have tried but keep getting an error message about invalid attachments. - Maybe size does matter????

[PaulF]

Question - how do you upload images etc? I have tried but keep getting an error message about invalid attachments. - Maybe size does matter????

Try uploading to a service like PhotoBucket.com or ImageShack.com (I use PhotoBucket) and that will provide you with links you can use on the forum. PB will even give you a link in [IMG] tags that you can just copy-paste straight into a post.

[peterg]

Hope this worked

[peterg]

Bingo - thanks guys.

I Managed to refit my strut brace and applied the headlight vinyl covers as per Hammer's trial. Very happy with the ease they went on and the look
Will get the camera out again!

[PaulF]

Very nice! Love the interior, and the general red and black theme.

[evil_weevil]

Looks very familiar...
hahahaha

glad to hear its still kinda in the family!!

Tell Ando his bike sucks and MX5's are better and he shouldnt have sold it haha